Product Details

Original Release Date: September 1, 2009

Release Date: September 1, 2009

Label: Roc Nation

Copyright: 2009 Shawn Carter. Manufactured and Distributed by Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States. A Warner Music Group Com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

No one can stress enough the fact that Jay-Z is no longer the same man who hit the streets with Reasonable Doubt. If you are looking for that from Jay then you need to ask yourself two questions. 1. Why would you think he hasn't grown up? 2. Why haven't you?

Back in 1995 he was creating his music from his perspective in Marcy Projects, from the perspective of a hustler and man of the streets. He has since had 10 #1 albums and has become CEO of Def Jam, co-owner of the Nets, co-owner of the 40/40 club franchise, and husband to Beyonce Knowles. The man is a media mogul and multi-millionaire. He has friends like Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin. He has aged fourteen years. He has appeared on various Forbes lists. There is no way he can have the same perspective or outlook on life as he did in 1995 and his music reflects that.

If you can appreciate mature hip-hop with quality beats, a sophisticated sound, and inventive lyrics, then you need this album in your life. I sincerely appreciate this album because I love the depth and growth that this man is showing. At the end of the day he is the greatest rapper alive and nothing can take that away from him so it makes sense for him to be a trailblazer and take the game to greater heights. No one but him can do it and he does it well. I applaud him for that.

What Jay-Z is doing right now reminds me of Beyonce's I Am... album, which many people also criticized, and while I am no fan of B I had to admit that she showed tremendous growth and range with the ballad side of the release. Musicians have to take risks in order to advance the art which means so much to them. And, at the end of the day, they are people who have to grow up. Jay-Z is an adult. His rhymes are adult, his collaborations are adult, his beats are adult, his track selection is adult. And I love it.

I think this collection will open up Jay-Z to additional audiences. I've seen the other reviews here saying it's not really Hip Hop. Well, Hip Hop should be about progression of expression. Why should he continue to rap about the streets? There's more to life than running the streets, hustling in the streets, etc... His life has evolved and naturally his lyrics should reflect that. The true sell outs are 1) those making all this money for the record companies and still being involved in illicit activities 2)those making all this money and perpetuating a stereotype they do not even live (if they ever have). You can apply a "street" mentality no matter where your life takes you. If "street" equals keeping it real, hustling for a cause and keeping it harcore, then Jay-Z is all of that and more. His tastes have become more refined and discretionary. Last time I checked Street Life is not the American Dream.

Just like Hollywood, many record labels and artists will avoid new releases in the same week as a guaranteed top seller, but even The Beatles weren't enough to scare away Jay-Z. As the title suggests, The Blueprint 3 is the third offering of a series that began in 2001. This is not the first time Jay-Z has linked numerous albums into a series either. His second, third, and fourth albums released between 1997 and 1999 were also all considered volumes of one work.

The first part of The Blueprint series, released September 11, 2001 is easily one of Jay-Z's best works. He sounded confident and still at the top of his game after releasing huge hits like "Big Pimpin" at the very end of the 20th century. In The Blueprint 3 it is obvious that as a New Yorker, the release date of his first offering in the series still weighs on his mind. References to 9/11 add a new level to Jay-Z's Blueprint which originally spent more time setting himself apart from his competition in the rap community than it did in politics. Obama's rise to President is another topic that seems to have inspired Jay-Z's new approach to this album

Unlike the original Blueprint, part two involved a great deal of collaborations with other names in the genre and those collaborations continue into The Blueprint 3 with the likes of Alicia Keys and Kanye West to name a couple. Unlike part two, however, the collaborations in this album seem to be carefully executed with more attention paid to Jay-Z himself. The Blueprint 3 is not one of Jay-Z's best, but it does bridge the gap of differences between parts one and two while offering a taste of what is still to come from one of rap's most successful artists. Will his track "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" ring true in the ears of other artists in the rap community? One can only hope.

To be fair I don't like this rating system. Its not fair to say that 3 stars for Jay-Z is the same as 3 stars for other crappy albums. At the same time this album is not a classic and my rating reflects that. The reason I am rating this album so low is because my expectation is so high. Hova was recently on Real Time with Bill Maher where he explained how his perspective has changed not only through his own monetary success but also due to his age. His music has become more adult over time. Evolving from his younger years posting up on a corner to creating his own businesses and clothing labels. This is exactly what he set out to do, unfortunately he has lost his hunger for the rap game.

The Blueprint was supposed to be just that, a blueprint to the rap game. If the rap world collapsed and someone came across this series they would have the ability to understand where the heart and soul of rap came from and why it existed to begin with. Unfortunately this album is not cohesive, delivers no clear message and appears to be a best of the B-SIDES album. Man does it hurt to say that! There are a few examples of his previous greatness such as Empire State of Mind and So Ambitious, but for the most part this is a solidly disappointing album. I'm sure people will say I'm hating on Hova. Not true, I just expect so much. He does integrate the current state of the world into his rhymes and production style as well, discussing the state of the war in the Middle East and current pop infatuation with Auto-Tune. Death of Auto-Tune was a song with so much promise; starting off by proclaiming himself "chairman of the board" unfortunately he fails to deliver.

Would I recommend this album? Absolutely. Jay-Z is one of the best who's ever been in the game.Read more ›